Conveyor belt and method of assembly

Abstract

A method for assembling a conveyor belt and a conveyor belt is provided, the conveyor belt including a plurality of elongated rods, a plurality of slide-in overlay elements, and a plurality of retaining overlay elements having a vertical opening to allow vertical insertion of the retaining overlay element on to an elongated rod. In one embodiment, the vertical opening includes a retainer such as a clip that resists removal of the retaining overlay element from the elongated rod. In another embodiment, the slide-in overlay element includes a lock mechanism which locks the retaining overlay element with the slide-in overlay element to resist removal of the retaining overlay element. The lock mechanism preferably includes a lock protrusion on the slide-in overlay element, and an interlock protrusion provided on the retaining overlay element offset relative to one another to allow interlocking of the lock protrusion with the interlock protrusion.

We claim:  
     
       1. A conveyor belt comprising: 
       a plurality of elongated rods interconnected with each other;  
       a plurality of slide-in overlay elements, each having an upper surface adapted to support items to be conveyed, and a transverse opening sized to slidably receive one of the elongated rods; and  
       a plurality of retaining overlay elements, each having an upper surface adapted to support items to be conveyed, a transverse opening sized to receive one of the elongated rods, and a vertical opening to allow vertical insertion of each retaining overlay element on to an elongated rod in a manner that each retaining element is adjacent to a slide-in overlay element;  
       wherein said upper surface of each of the plurality of slide-in overlay elements are substantially coplanar to the upper surface of each of the plurality of retaining overlay elements; and  
       wherein each of the plurality of slide-in overlay elements and the plurality of retaining overlay elements include a plurality of spaced intermeshing extensions that form receiving compartments adapted receive intermeshing extensions of an adjacent overlay element thereby interlinking adjacent overlay elements together, the vertical opening of each of the plurality of retaining overlay elements being positioned on an intermeshing extension.  
     
     
       2. The conveyor belt of  claim 1 , wherein the vertical opening of each retaining overlay element includes a retainer that resists removal of the retaining overlay element from the elongated rod. 
     
     
       3. The conveyor belt of  claim 2 , wherein the retainer includes a clip portion that sizes the vertical opening smaller than a thickness dimension of the elongated rod. 
     
     
       4. The conveyor belt of  claim 1 , wherein the transverse opening of each of the plurality of slide-in overlay elements and the plurality of retaining overlay elements are slots to allow the interlinked overlay elements to be nested together and extended away from one another. 
     
     
       5. The conveyor belt of  claim 4 , wherein each of the intermeshing extensions include a bulbous tip. 
     
     
       6. The conveyor belt of  claim 1 , wherein the slide-in overlay element and the retaining overlay element are formed from a non-metallic material. 
     
     
       7. The conveyor belt of  claim 6 , further including at least one link mounted to an end of the elongated rod. 
     
     
       8. The conveyor belt of  claim 7 , wherein the link is mounted to the end of the elongated rod using a high temperature process including at least one of welding and button head forming. 
     
     
       9. The conveyor belt of  claim 7 , wherein the link includes a transverse opening sized to receive an elongated rod therein. 
     
     
       10. The conveyor belt of  claim 9 , wherein the link is formed from a nonmetallic material. 
     
     
       11. The conveyor belt of  claim 1 , wherein combined transverse length of the plurality of slide-in overlay elements is longer than combined transverse length of the plurality of retaining overlay elements. 
     
     
       12. A conveyor belt comprising: 
       a plurality of elongated rods interconnected with each other;  
       a plurality of slide-in overlay elements, each having an upper surface, and a transverse opening sized to slidably receive one of the elongated rods; and  
       a plurality of retaining overlay elements, each having a transverse opening sized to receive one of the elongated rods, and a vertical opening to allow vertical insertion of each retaining overlay element on to an elongated rod in a manner that each retaining element is adjacent to a slide-in overlay element;  
       wherein the slide-in overlay element includes a lock mechanism which locks an end of the retaining overlay element with an end of the slide-in overlay element to resist removal of the retaining overlay element.  
     
     
       13. The conveyor belt of  claim 12 , wherein the lock mechanism includes a lock protrusion provided on an end of the slide-in overlay element that abuts the retaining overlay element, the lock protrusion being positioned proximate to the upper surface of the slide-in overlay element. 
     
     
       14. The conveyor belt of  claim 12 , wherein the lock mechanism further includes an interlock protrusion provided on an end of the retaining overlay element that abuts the slide-in overlay element, the interlock protrusion being offset relative to the lock protrusion of the slide-in overlay element, thereby allowing interlocking of the lock protrusion with the interlock protrusion. 
     
     
       15. The conveyor belt of  claim 12 , wherein the lock protrusion is positioned flush with the upper surface of the slide-in overlay element. 
     
     
       16. The conveyor belt of  claim 12 , wherein the vertical opening of each retaining overlay element includes a retainer that resists removal of the retaining overlay element from the elongated rod. 
     
     
       17. The conveyor belt of  claim 16 , wherein the retainer includes a clip portion that sizes the vertical opening smaller than a thickness dimension of the elongated rod. 
     
     
       18. A conveyor belt comprising: 
       a plurality of elongated rods interconnected with each other;  
       a plurality of slide-in overlay elements, each having an upper surface, and a transverse opening sized to slidably receive one of the elongated rods; and  
       a plurality of retaining overlay elements, each having a transverse opening sized to receive one of the elongated rods, and a vertical opening to allow vertical insertion of each retaining overlay element on to an elongated rod in a manner that each retaining element is adjacent to a slide-in overlay element;  
       wherein each of the plurality of slide-in overlay elements and the plurality of retaining overlay elements include a plurality of spaced intermeshing extensions that form receiving compartments adapted receive intermeshing extensions of an adjacent overlay element thereby interlinking adjacent overlay elements together;  
       wherein the transverse opening of each of the plurality of slide-in overlay elements and the plurality of retaining overlay elements are slots to allow the interlinked overlay elements to be nested together and extended away from one another;  
       wherein each of the intermeshing extensions include a bulbous tip;  
       wherein the bulbous tip of each of the intermeshing extensions are dimensioned so that vertical edge surfaces of the bulbous tip contacts vertical edge surfaces of bulbous tips of adjacent intermeshing extensions when the overlay elements are extended away from one another.  
     
     
       19. A conveyor belt comprising: 
       a plurality of elongated rods interconnected with each other;  
       a plurality of slide-in overlay elements, each having an upper surface, and a transverse opening sized to slidably receive one of the elongated rods; and  
       a plurality of retaining overlay elements, each having a transverse opening sized to receive one of the elongated rods, and a vertical opening to allow vertical insertion of each retaining overlay element on to an elongated rod in a manner that each retaining element is adjacent to a slide-in overlay element;  
       wherein the slide-in overlay element and the retaining overlay element are formed from a non-metallic material;  
       further including at least one link mounted to an end of the elongated rod;  
       wherein the link includes a transverse opening sized to receive an elongated rod therein;  
       wherein the link is formed from a non-metallic material;  
       wherein the link is a drive link adapted to facilitate driving of the conveyor belt.  
     
     
       20. A conveyor belt comprising: 
       a plurality of elongated rods interconnected with each other;  
       a plurality of slide-in overlay elements, each having an upper surface, and a transverse opening sized to slidably receive one of the elongated rods; and  
       a plurality of retaining overlay elements, each having a transverse opening sized to receive one of the elongated rods, and a vertical opening to allow vertical insertion of each retaining overlay element on to an elongated rod in a manner that each retaining element is adjacent to a slide-in overlay element;  
       wherein the slide-in overlay element and the retaining overlay element are formed from a non-metallic material;  
       further including at least one link mounted to an end of the elongated rod;  
       wherein the link includes a transverse opening sized to receive an elongated rod therein;  
       wherein the link is formed from a non-metallic material;  
       wherein the link includes an extension portion extending beyond the end of the elongated rod.  
     
     
       21. The conveyor belt of  claim 20 , wherein the extension portion is adapted to guide conveyance path of the conveyor belt. 
     
     
       22. The conveyor belt of  claim 20 , wherein the extension portion includes a drive surface adapted frictionally contact a drive mechanism to thereby drive the conveyor belt. 
     
     
       23. A method of assembling a conveyor belt comprising the steps of: 
       providing an elongated rod;  
       providing a slide-in overlay element with a transverse opening sized to receive the elongated rod;  
       sliding the slide-in overlay element on to the elongated rod, the transverse opening of the slide-in overlay element receiving the elongated rod;  
       providing a retaining overlay element with a vertical opening and a transverse opening sized to receive the elongated rod; and  
       vertically inserting the retaining overlay element on to the elongated rod via the vertical opening.  
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 23 , further including the step of interlocking abutting ends of the retaining overlay element and the slide-in overlay element to resist removal of the retaining overlay element. 
     
     
       25. The method of  claim 23 , further including the step of securing the retaining overlay element by clipping the retaining overlay element on to the elongated rod. 
     
     
       26. The method of  claim 23 , wherein at least one of the slide-in overlay element and the retaining overlay element is formed from a non-metallic material. 
     
     
       27. The method of  claim 26 , further including the step of moving the slide-in overlay element away from an end of the elongated rod and subjecting the end of the elongated rod to a high temperature process before inserting the retaining overlay element on to the elongated rod. 
     
     
       28. The method of  claim 27 , wherein the high temperature process includes at least one of welding and button head forming. 
     
     
       29. The method of  claim 27 , further including the step of sliding a link with a transverse opening on to an end of the elongated rod. 
     
     
       30. The method of  claim 29 , further including the step of sliding the link away from the end of the elongated rod before subjecting the end of the elongated rod to the high temperature process. 
     
     
       31. The method of  claim 30 , wherein the link includes an extension portion extending beyond the end of the elongated rod. 
     
     
       32. The method of  claim 30 , wherein the link is a drive link mounted to the end of the elongated rod.